Weather stations needed to help farmers – study

By Regina Mae Ronquillo on May 29, 2019

A study has proposed the setting up of weather stations in the barangays of the city as part of helping small farmers deal with climate change.

In presenting the study: “Climate – Resilient Agriculture in Mindanao: How do we get there?” Doris Montecastro of the Ateneo de Davao University Research Council said that these weather stations are very important for small farmers to plan their farming activities.

Montecastro said that some privately owned plantations have weather stations “so they know accurately when to irrigate but then the small farmers don’t have that information.”

The study aims to generate spatial database as well as provide updated data for further R&D.

“If possible we have to put up (weather) stations in 182 barangays so we could actually be more scientific with respect to the analysis of water resources,” said Mildred Estrada, member of the research team as these weather stations will help detect weather status since the city is experiencing “micro-climate systems” due to its distinctive topographical feature.

“If you notice, it could rain in Calinan but not in other place, those are called micro-climates so weather stations established locally are only true for that area,” Montecastro said.

The research team also encouraged farmers to engage in scientific – based farming in order to determine what kind of seeds and other farming practices are suitable in their areas. The team also emphasized how important it is for farmers to acquire information on when and where to plant their crops.